EFFECT OF RISK MANAGEMENT FUNCTION ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF SAVINGS AND CREDIT CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN KENYA

Abstract

Purpose: The main objective of the study was to establish effect of risk management function on financial performance of savings and credit co-operative societies (SACCOs). The total assets of SACCOs grew from 257 billion to 301.5 billion while total deposits increasing from 182.7 billion to 205.9 billion from December 2013 to December 2014 financial years (SASRA, 2014). With savings of kes. 380 billion and asset base of Kshs. 493 billion, SACCOs control 39 percent of total loan accounts in Kenya (SASRA, 2012). Howevwer, some SACCOs have gone under liquidation thus putting billions at risk. This has led to the introduction of CRBs to control all financial institutions to reduce the information asymmetry effects between lenders and borrowers. The target population was 181 and a sample of 135 licensed deposit taking SACCOs as at 31st December 2014 was used. Stratified random sampling technique was used for each type or category. Secondary data from publications, CRBs, journals and financial records was used. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires which had both close ended and open ended questionnaires. The study used multiple regression and Pearson correlation to test for significance and relationship respectively of the independent variables and the dependent variable.Findings: The findings indicated that risk management function had a positive and significant effect on financial performance of SACCOs in Kenya.Recommendation: The study recommends that lenders should review their risk management techniques regularly in order to coup with the rapid advances in technological changes. The study also recommended that SACCOs should always subject their clients to credit reference bureaus whenever they grant a loan.